A word about Amnesty International

The event at the Leipziger Museum der Bildenden Künste, in which we,
from Netzwerk Ella, just spoke about prostituion, was protested ahead
of our arrival. Because it is, apparently, IMPOSSIBLE and UNBEARABLE
that prostituted women speak about prostitution. Inacceptable, indeed!
One of the groups among the protesters (Berufsverband erotische und
sexuelle Dienstleistungen/ professional association of erotic and sexual
services etc.) was AMNESTY. Amnesty apparently doesn’t want those truly
affected by the issue to speak.

This does not surprise, as Amensty threw us women in prostituion
under the bus years ago, when they demanded a full decriminalisation of
„sex work“ and EXPLICITLY INCLUDED JOHNS, TRAFFICKING, AND PIMPING.
Their justification for this was, that every human being is supposed to
have a right to sex and that it would be an act of DISCRIMINATION to
prohibit men from buying it. What is clear to us is: there is a right to
one’s own sexuality, but there is no right to have anybody else
delivered at one’s disposal for this.

And: Anybody supporting johns, pimps and traffickers to walk free is
not FOR us prostitutes, but AGAINST US. We also have a critical view of
the contributions from the audience today. A woman “researcher“
categorized us as being “far too emotional“. Sub-message: “You’re just
complete losers, victim-mentality, you can only cry and sniff, but I –
well I can think.“ Surprise! We can think, too. (And some of us, BTW,
also are also researchers.) Accusing women of being „too emotional“ is
bestknown patriarchal. You complain that we “play the victims here“, but
it is you who reduce us to our victim status, you are the ones to say
that we’re just whores, incapable of thought or political analysis. This
boundless comtempt of women does not surprise us in the least, however.

And then, at the end, being told we’re racist, because we draw
attention to under what CONDITIONS women from the poorest European
countries have to be on the game here. The CONDITIONS are racist and we
denounce then – from you, not a syllable on that. It is only our giving
VOICE to the criticism that annoys you. What is happening here in
Germany is the worst kind of colonialism. Women from southeastern Europe
are to suck German men’s dicks to survive. NOT A WORD from you on that.
But to spell out this fact is racist? Lay of whatever you’re sniffing.

We’re not suprised at you. But we are surprised that you still call
yourselves a human rights organisation. Be honest and call yourselves
PUNTERS’ AND PIMPS’ ORGANISATION.